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The novel coronavirus pandemic has certainly disrupted liturgical life in the Orthodox Church worldwide: responses and changes to centuries-old practices have varied considerably from country to country, diocese to diocese, and sometimes even parish to parish. Some within the Church have been calling for an end to the medieval Eastern Christian practice of distributing Holy Communion to the laity via a communal spoon. Rather than examining the arguments — pro or con — related to such a suggestion, I would like to ask a more practical question: is an official change likely to happen, either worldwide or even within one autocephalous church? [Read more...]

In his article of May 25, 2020, “A Note on the Common Communion Spoon,” Fr. Alkiviadis Calivas attempted to provide some justifications for eliminating use of the common spoon for Holy Communion. What he ultimately presented were the values of the world or the reasoning of Western Christianity under the cloak of Orthodox theology. Orthodoxy has always been flexible, but it has also been uncompromising in certain areas, including our core belief about Communion and our Orthodox phronema, our mindset, which is distinct from all other Christian groups... [Read more...]

As we are planning the reopening of our churches, and anticipating soon to approach again for Holy Communion, a lot of discussions have arisen as to the method of distribution of the Holy Gifts in the Orthodox Churches. Some people have been talking about the need for using multiple spoons, others are proposing new innovative methods. The underlying feeling of everyone is the fear of death... [Read more...]

First of all, what is your general opinion on the epidemic we are currently experiencing?

I am not surprised: for millennia there have been about two major epidemics per century, and several other smaller epidemics. Their frequency is, however, increasing, and the population concentration in our urban civilization... [Read more...]

It is possible after receiving Holy Communion that I could be hit by a car and killed a few minutes later. Or be infected with a virus within minutes of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. What about minutes before, in the act of Communion itself? Does Holy Communion exempt us from all infections, sickness, suffering and death? No. Does … [Read more...]

Today I sat in one of my favorite spots in the middle of my walk around Cooper Creek. It's a stone picnic table sheltered under some tall pine trees overlooking the lake. Carolina Tarheel sky blue above with a whisp of clouds over the green earth and the undulating brown waters of the lake. Light infuses everything and as I collect my attention … [Read more...]

I’ve always admired the early monks and nuns of the desert literature. Not because they discovered ways of escaping the reality of paying taxes. Not only because their words were inspirational and their prayer transformative. And not primarily because they withstood the power of the empire and the test of time. But because ... [Read more...]

I am going to go ahead and say yes. But stick with me here, okay? We Christians in the early 21st century tend to be spiritual people when we’re in church or praying but secular materialists much of the rest of the time. I don’t mean that we become unbelievers, but we do tend to act like them. How do pastors and Christian teachers... [Read more...]